


The Book

by padfootagain



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Marauders, Marauders' Era, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, blackinnon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-17 17:35:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16978932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/padfootagain/pseuds/padfootagain
Summary: Two scenes from the movie The Notebook re-written to fit some Blackinnon drama.





	The Book

**Author's Note:**

> Angst and drama and fluff, I answered an event on tumblr to rewrite a couple of scenes from the movie The Notebook to fit Blackinnon.

He hadn’t seen her in what felt like years. More than a year, actually. It seemed much longer to him, as if seconds had extended to hours to fill up years of his life without her. She was still as beautiful as he remembered… That last day in the Hogwarts Express, when they kissed for the last time…

_“You’ll write to me, right Black?”_

_“Of course, I will, McKinnon. And I will wait letters from you as well.”_

_“I’ll send you howlers, then.”_

_“That sounds quite like you!”_

_“Seriously though… Sirius… You’ll write to me, right? It’s not because school is over that_ we _are over, right?”_

_“Of course not, Marls. I promise. I’ll write to you. And we’ll see each other soon.”_

But she had never replied.

He had written for months, every day, waiting for an answer, staring at the empty sky and guessing shapes of an owl in every bird that flew by.

He knew it was complicated for her to be with him though, because of what her family thought of him. For a while, he held on the thought that she couldn’t reply because she was scared to be caught by her parents. So he asked her to join him in Diagon Alley, at her favourite shop. But he waited and waited and waited, standing there before the door, unable to walk away even after hours had passed, unable to think that it could be true…

She would not come. She would not write anymore. It had all been a mere dream…

And now here she was. 18 months later. Her golden hair still shining in the light of the dying day, her bright eyes gleamering with laughter as she listened to Lily’s joke…

She hadn’t changed a bit…

But he was a different man.

Through his fight with the Order, he had grown into another man. Yes, he still wore his leather jacket and he still listened to the Rolling Stones. But now his smile struggled to reach his grey eyes. Although, it wasn’t just because of the war, because of all the dead that seemed to surround him, because of all this pain he had witnessed and experienced. It was mostly because a young blond woman had broken his heart a few months before.

He was surprised to see her there though, he would have never imagined that she would join the fight. She loved her family too much for that. And although they were fiercely opposed to Voldemort, the McKinnons were not fighting. They were trying to go through legal ways instead, trials, judges…

Clearly, Marlene was not exactly like her family. But Sirius knew that already. She was the only one who could see beyond his name. And he was so grateful for it…

He knew she had not spotted him yet. Sirius couldn’t decide what to do. He could just ignore her and attend the meeting as if nothing had happened, he could run away while he still had the chance, he could walk to meet her…

James’s hand landed on his shoulder more softly than usual, and Sirius was torn away from his thoughts to fall into his best friend’s hazel eyes.

“You should talk to her.”

Sirius clenched his jaw.

“I don’t think so, Prongs.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“Not more than you are.”

“She loved you, Pads.”

“Obviously. That’s why she never replied. That’s why she left…”

Sirius’s voice broke, the pain still too recent despite the months that had passed since he had accepted his fate.

He shook his head, pushing his friend away.

“I should leave.”

“You need to stay for the meeting.”

“Prongs…”

“You need to. You must. What if you’re sent on a mission?”

Sirius clenched his jaw, knowing that James was right. So he took a seat between Remus and James, and waited until the meeting would end…

He was not sent away this time. Remus and Peter were though. James couldn’t help but be relieved that he could stay with Lily for a bit longer as well.

“We should have a drink,” he offered.

“Great idea!” Lily smiled up at him, beaming at Sirius as well. “Let’s bring Marlene as well.”

“No…” Sirius tried to protest, but the redhead would not hear a thing about it.

“We haven’t seen her in ages! Of course she’s coming! Go ahead, we’ll be right behind you.”

At first in this Muggle bar, Sirius tried to avoid her. He remained close to James and Remus, keeping his mind busy thanks to his friends. But soon, Remus walked home with Peter as they were to be sent away early the next morning. James was soon too busy snogging Lily to take care of his friend.

And Marlene and Sirius were left together, sitting next to each other at this bar, but feeling more alone than ever. Two broken souls unable to reach each other because of the walls they had built for themselves.

He hadn’t changed much. Marlene could see it. Same clothes, same lopsided smirk on his lips, same long hair, same rebellious look. But his grey eyes were sadder than she remembered. This tragic aura that oozed out of him was more present as well. This strange sensation that he came from another time and place… a scent of melancholia. He had this noble stature to fit with a crumbling mind. The paradox was too severe not to transpire through his intense grey eyes. A rebellious soul trapped in a violent childhood for too long. It was more visible now than she remembered. She guessed that war had made it all come to the surface. She could see it in the dark circles around his eyes, in the sadness of his gaze, in the stubble that darkened his cheeks.

It still felt the same to be there, sitting next to him though. The rushing heart, the quick glances, the longing to hold his hand…

But she was too strong to show it… or perhaps too weak.

“So… how are you?” she finally broke the heavy silence that had settled between them.

“Fine. You?”

“Fine.”

“Your family?”

“They’re okay.”

“Do they know you’re here?”

“No… you know that they don’t. They wouldn’t agree with all this.”

“It is dangerous.”

“It’s the right thing to do. And I should have joined a long time ago, when all of you guys did.”

They talked for a while. Actually, they talked for a long while. The more time flew by, the more relaxed they were, until it finally felt like before. Before the war. Before the months spent apart. Before the end…

Eventually, it was time for the pub to close and for the two of them to face the heavy rain that fell outside.

It was still cold for an early Spring, and the droplets were as cold as ice. But there was nothing to do in a street still full of Muggles despite the late hour. They couldn’t summon a magical umbrella, so they ran down the street instead, laughing as they were both soaked in a matter of seconds.

They stopped under the branches of a large oak, that had its roots buried in Saint James’s park. But the leaves and branches were fleeing the confines of the park and extended above the street, providing a little shelter to the two Wizards.

Sirius rested his back against the iron spikes that surrounded the park, laughing more than ever. But he soon grew serious as he noticed Marlene’s stare set upon him.

“You calling the Knight Bus?” he asked the witch before him.

But she ignored his question. Her expression had shifted from happiness to sadness, from joy to pain. She breathed out her question, as if escaping her lips because of a punch had hit her in the stomach, stealing all the air from her lungs. She was clenching her fists, anger and sorrow mingling with betrayal in a cocktail that broke Sirius’s heart in an instant.

“Why didn’t you write to me?”

Sirius merely frowned.

“I waited for you!” she went on, raising her voice now as tears threatened to escape from her blue eyes. “I waited, Sirius! Why did you never write to me? You promised that you would!”

He took a step closer to her, a strange feeling invading his chest. He didn’t really know if it was hope or joy, but what was for certain was that the feeling was warm and comforting, a sensation he hadn’t felt in a long while…

Because that explained it all then… She had never received his letters… If she had not read them, how could she answer? How could she have come to this shop in Diagon Alley if she had never received his message asking her to go there in the first place?

He noticed that there were tears in his eyes as well. The world was quite blur all around him now, but somehow, not Marlene.

“I wrote to you every day for almost a year, Marls,” he said slowly.

She frowned hard.

“No, you didn’t! I never received anything!”

But he suddenly held her upper arms in his hands in a tender and yet firm hold, forcing her to see the truth in his eyes.

“I wrote to you, Marls. I wrote to you. But you never answered.”

“I sent you letters…”

They both fell silent, knowing that they were both telling the truth. They had both held true to their word, but the other had never received all the messages they had sent…

“Do you think the owls were… intercepted?” Marlene asked softly.

“They were never hurt. They always came back as if the job had been done, right?”

She nodded. But she soon forgot this point. The question of why she hadn’t received them all was irrelevant for now. He had written to her…

“So… you were not… ignoring me to break up with me…?” she breathed, staring at him.

His hands slowly moved from her arms to her cheeks. He shook his head, chasing her tears away from her skin with his thumbs, while his own tears mingled with the frozen rain.

“Of course not,” he whispered. “I was in love with you, Marls. I still am. It’s never been over. It’s not over…”

Before she could reply, he was crushing his lips to hers.

As their breaths became one, their heartbeats matching in a pace they used to take a long time ago but had never forgotten, their lips parted, and time seemed to stop.

Rain was still falling on their entwined shapes clothed in night and urban lights, but they couldn’t feel it hitting their skin. Perhaps it was because they were already soaked wet. Perhaps it was because of the way they were holding on each other as if their life depended on it. Perhaps it was an old form of magic that united two hearts. Perhaps it was just the effect of their kiss.

Or perhaps it was because… standing there, in each other’s arms, they were finally home…

———————————————————————-

Sirius looked up at her above the cover of the book he held in his hands. Marlene was staring at him, obviously focused on his story, but her blue eyes were empty. She was staring at him, but the spark in her gaze was gone. He used to see the word love written on her lashes. He used to see through her heart by staring at her eyes. But not anymore. She was looking at him as if he was a mere stranger. And actually… to her he was…

He had arrived too late to her home to save her family, but had managed to deflect a killing curse that had been aimed at her. He didn’t manage to deflect the red spark that had followed though…

The torturing spell that had hit her temple had not only knocked her out. It had damaged her brain. Enough to make her forget.

Her name. Her family. Her home… all was gone.

From time to time, little bits of her unknown past were suddenly revealed to her eyes again. For now, she could remember some things from her childhood. She could remember her name. She remembered the war. She remembered spells. She remembered Lily. She could understand that her whole family was gone.

But Sirius? She had not managed to find that piece of the puzzle yet. He still hoped that she would though.

He kept on ignoring the Healers who had announced him that she would never find back her full memories again. Holes would remain, blanks set in the middle of her life. And according to the Healers at St Mungo’s, she would not remember more things than she had managed to bring back from the depth of her mind now. All that she had not managed to take back in the first few days was lost forever. The damages were too severe. And there was nothing the Healers could do.

She had not remembered anything else for three months now. But Sirius was still hoping…

She was still in there somewhere. At some times, he could see her. She was passing through the eyes of this defeated stranger like a shooting star crossed the inky sky. But just like burning dreams she disappeared as soon as she appeared.

She felt like a soul imprisoned in a stranger. It was still her though, Sirius knew it. She still had the same answers, the snarky remarks, the humour… but it was not _his_ Marlene. He still loved her with all his being though.

She waited for him to go on, to keep on telling her the story, but he didn’t go on. So she encouraged him to pursue.

“What happened next? Did Noah and Allie stay together?”

“Yeah. They did.”

“Well, keep reading. It’s a good book.”

“I know.”

He hid the inside of the pages, so she wouldn’t recognize her own handwriting. He was merely reading her notebook, merely changing their names into Noah and Allie. He reckoned she needed to remember by herself who they were to each other.

“But it’s late, and you should rest. We’ll read the rest tomorrow morning.”

She nodded, but wasn’t so tired. She heaved a sigh, holding her blanket against her as she lied down in her bed. Sirius was sitting next to her, in an old wooden chair. Outside Godric’s Hollow, the night was filled with stars.

“I know that you said… that we were friends,” she said softly, her tone hesitant, as she looked up at him again. “But why are you helping me so much? There’s a war going on out there, you should be fighting, instead of wasting your time on me. I’m broken. I can’t remember.”

“You can, remember, Marlene. I know you can. You just need a little help.”

She heaved a sigh.

“Why are you so kind to me?”

He wished he could tell her. For a second, he thought about not refraining the words and let them pass his lips…

_Because I love you, Marls._

But instead he merely smiled.

“That’s what friends do,” he answered after a long while.

She nodded slowly.

“Can you keep reading for a bit?” she asked him. “Although… I don’t know why you keep on doing that… like I’m a child who needs bedtime stories. I can read it myself.”

“But that wouldn’t be so much fun. And I wouldn’t have a good reason to come here every night and eat Lily’s food.”

She chuckled, nodding slowly. She knew there was something more, but she couldn’t pinpoint what. Sirius was still wrapped with fog to her for now. She knew she had known him well in the past, she knew she could trust him… but she couldn’t _remember_.

He looked down at the book in his hands, closing it slowly and letting his hands wander across the worn-out cover. All your life since your seventh year at Hogwarts was in there. And in particular, Sirius was in there…

He remembered every memory you had written down in dark ink. He still could feel all of them. And he remembered how time had seemed to stretch when you were not by his side, when the months spent together had passed in the blink of an eye. He wished he could re-live them all over again…

“Why didn’t they receive each other’s letters?” she asked him, tearing Sirius away from his thoughts.

“Because her parents stole them all. They hid them, so she wouldn’t see him again.”

She gasped in surprise.

“Really?!”

Sirius nodded.

“They didn’t want her to be with someone like him. So they did everything they could to tear them apart.”

“But they didn’t manage it, right? At the end, they found each other again.”

Sirius nodded with a tender smile.

“Yeah… and I think that they’ll always find each other. One way or another.”

“How can you know?”

“Love can make miracles happen.”

“Do you really think that?”

He smiled.

“The woman I love saved me in so many ways.”

His smile turned sadder for a moment.

“It’s late. You should rest, Marlene.”

“I don’t want to.”

“You need to rest though. And I need to go to bed too.”

“Allie and Noah… do you think that… this story… could be true?”

Sirius nodded slowly.

“It is true.”

“Really?”

He nodded again, before standing up and making sure that the blanket covered her bare arms.

“Good night, Marls.”

“I wish I could remember you…”

“You will remember me. You just need a bit of time.”

“I feel so lost…”

“I know you do. But it will get better. You just need some time to heal.”

“I don’t mean to hurt you by not remembering…”

“It’s not your fault, Marls. None of this is your fault. It’s all mine. I should have reached you… I should have arrived to your house earlier. I should have been able to save you…”

She frowned hard.

“You’re the one who came to my house that night,” she whispered, and for a moment, he could see something dawning in her eyes. “You’re the one who deflected the curse…”

He didn’t want to upset her with this kind of memories, so he tried to back away again.

“You should rest, Marls.”

But she took his hand before he could leave, and the feeling of his skin against hers sent shivers all across her body.

Her eyes grew wide as she remembered his shape running towards her that night, catching her in his arms right before she fell unconscious. But he wasn’t calling her Marlene, or Marls, or McKinnon. He was calling her something else…

_“Love!”_

The memory of the word clicked in her mind and she understood why he was so caring… He loved her… they were together before all of this happened…

She searched through her brain, trying to force herself to remember more about him, but all that could come to her mind was a red ribbon encircling a pile of letters…

She gasped as the realization stroke her.

“You’re Noah.”

Sirius sat down on the side of her bed, his heart racing, both scared and excited at the same time…

She could… perhaps… remember…

“And I’m Allie,” she went on. “It’s us… it's… it’s my notebook…”

He nodded slowly, his eyes full of hope.

“Why did you change our names, you bloody moron?!” she went on, tears escaping from her eyes by now. “That would have been much simpler!”

Sirius let out a nervous laugh, tears rolling down his cheeks too.

“That would have made the job way too easy for you,” he joked. “And also… I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me. I thought it was better if you remembered by yourself.”

Marlene nodded, before letting out a shaky whisper.

“Sirius…”

And when their eyes met, it was truly her that he saw. Not an empty nutshell lost on an ocean. He could see the determination he was used too. He could read _love_ on her lashes…

“Marls!”

“I remember you!”

She rushed into his arms, and he closed them in a tight embrace where she found herself trapped. But she was so happy to be trapped there.

“I’m sorry, it took me so long, Sirius.”

“It’s okay, love. It’s okay. You’re back. You’re back, it’s all that matters.”

They remained there, sitting on her bed, just holding on each other tightly, for a very long while.

But if the three last months had seemed to Sirius to last for years, these few hours with her in his arms passed in a mere second…


End file.
